India considering anti-dumping duty on solar EVA sheet imports

Author: University of Salford Press Office.

February 25 (Renewables Now) - India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended anti-dumping duties of up to USD 1,559 (EUR 1,373) per tonne on imports of EVA sheets for solar modules coming from China and three other countries.

The recommendation was made last week following an investigation launched in April 2018 into imports of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) sheets prompted by complaints by Indian manufacturers.

DGTR has proposed duties on the imports from specific producers for a period of five years. More details on the suggested tariffs are available in the table below.

The investigation covered the period between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017 and followed an official petition by India-based integrated PV manufacturer Renewsys India, the renewable energy arm of conglomerate, Enpee Group, targeting imports from China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and South Korea. The latter country will not face any levies as DGTR found that imports from South Korea are mostly EVA resins, the raw material for EVA sheets, which are used as an encapsulation material in the production of photovoltaic (PV) modules.

DGTR discovered that the market share of the countries subject to the investigation is “significant,” while the share of the domestic industry has dropped to 28% during the review period from 68% in the base year 2014-15 of the investigation. It also added that the imposition of anti-dumping duties “would remove the unfair advantages gained by dumping practices, would prevent the decline of the domestic industry and help maintain the availability of wider choice to the consumers of the subject goods."

Veselina Petrova is one of SeeNews Renewables most experienced green energy writers. For several years she has been keeping track of game-changing events both large and small projects and across the globe.